Monday Morning Blockchain Roundup: 9 October 2017

A few articles worth taking a look at this morning. We are particularly interested, at the moment, in governmental approach to the world of blockchain and the law. You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the tone set by state authorities in Delaware (USA) and now other international jurisdictions are beginning to make noises about blockchain, business and regulation.. This morning we’ve got a piece about Malta and that Mediterranean island’s desire to become a tech hub for all things blockchain. Whilst another island on the other side of the world, Singapore, seeks to find the best way to regulate this new tech. Thankyou, as always, for reading and we will have more updates for you as the week progresses.

Extract: GreenMed.io whose token sale is going strong, continues moving from strength to strength. The Blockchain-based credit card processing company recently announced the launch of their new customer facing website for both dispensaries and their customers; an expanding relationship with the wildly popular headshop GrassCity; and a new 10% referral program that benefits both the referrer and referred party. Enthusiasm is high for all of these developments.

Extract: IPWatchdog recently sat down with Aaron Swerdlow, and Banu Naraghi, attorneys at Gerard Fox Law, to discuss why digital currency offers a new way to scrutinize IP.

According to Naraghi, blockchain specifically is critical to the securitization of IP because it guarantees the validity of a transaction by recording the transaction on a main centralized register as well as a connected publicly distributed system of registers. The fact that data is embedded within a public network and updated with each transaction promotes transparency and prevents modification or corruption.

Extract: Given the importance of this technology, Malta has decided to take a lead role and aims to position itself as a leading hub for blockchain technology and its offshoots.

The tone is being set at the very top by the Maltese Government and as Nicholas Warren, Senior Manager, Financial Services at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, explains: “There has been a report commissioned by the Malta Gaming Authority regarding a soft rollout of cryptocurrencies. Malta is looking to develop a framework and legislation with respect to cryptocurrencies, for them to be properly regulated. We are pushing to become the first EU jurisdiction, even worldwide jurisdiction, to have blockchain as an integral part of our infrastructure and to remain at the forefront of cryptocurrency developments.

“Indeed, we have started to see considerable interest over the last six months in cryptocurrency funds and investment services providers investing in cryptocurrency capabilities.”

It is still early days but increasingly law firms, both onshore and offshore, are fielding cryptocurrency enquiries and are, in response, having to learn about the technology to provide the appropriate legal advice. Warren confirms that Chetcuti Cauchi are developing a blockchain `champion’ within the team, who will lead on things related to cryptocurrencies and DLT technology.

Extract: Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, and Chairman of Singapore’s financial watchdog, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has responded to a question pertaining to MAS’s assessments and regulatory intentions regarding cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Mr. Shanmugaratnam replied by stating that the Singaporean regulator did not recognize bitcoin as legal tender, and that the MAS will likely seek to regulate companies providing bitcoin payment services, rather than the cryptocurrency itself.

Extract: LOCI is on a quest to unify the global and at times archaic patent world. As the company drives its capitalization via an upcoming token sale, we had an opportunity to sit down with the company’s CEO, John Wise for a deep dive into the companies and InnVenn Patent Discovery Platform. InnVenn is a superior patent searching tool that quickly and comprehensively searches the intellectual property landscape while fundamentally helping fuel innovation and the next generation of visionary’s.

Extract: The Bank of Montreal (BMO), CaixaBank, Commerzbank and Erste Group have joined an initiative launched by UBS and IBM in 2016 to build a new global trade platform based on blockchain technology. This new platform, called Batavia, is built to be openly accessed by organisations of all sizes anywhere in the world, and can support trade finance for transactions across all modes of trade, whether goods are being transported by air, land or sea.